Paul Claudel, Cent phrases pour éventails, Tokyo, 1927
[IRFA, bibliothèque asiatique, RES.JAP CLA ]
« Qui m’aurait permis — ce n’est pas ce pinceau déjà vibrant au plus délié de mes phalanges, ce n’est pas ce papier offert, aussi craquant que la soie, aussi tendu que la corde sous l’archet, aussi moelleux que le brouillard — de résister à la tentation là-bas partout ambiante de la calligraphie ? » – Paul Claudel, preface of Cent phrases pour éventails.
Sent to Japan as French ambassador from November 1921 to February 1927, Paul Claudel was conquered by this country which he described as not far from paradise. The ambassador-poet composed Cent phrases pour éventails in 1927, as his stay was coming to an end and his interest in calligraphy had been blossoming for several years (Souffle des quatre souffles, Poèmes du Pont-des-Faisans).
Following the model of Far Eastern books, the work is presented in the form of three paper accordions (29 x 10cm) placed in a blue canvas box with gold speckles and an ivory closure. The composition of the book follows a continuous pattern: at the beginning of each poem, two calligraphic kanji (Chinese ideograms borrowed by the Japanese language) are arranged opposite, playing the role of titles, and a sentence in French answers them with often one or two western letters on the side of the Japanese page. Very often, the beginning of each sentence of each section is written on the Japanese part of the manuscript, that is to say the left part composed of kanji.
The book presents a luminous and glorious Japan and borrows from certain traditions specific to Japan: haiku, calligraphy and the close oriental relationship with nature and the world. However, this impregnation of Japanese culture does not make Claudel renounce his identity as a Western Christian.
“Toutefois il ne s’agit pas pour Claudel de renoncer à son identité de chrétien occidental. (…) Le Japon paradisiaque n’est somme toute qu’une belle image, un reflet, une allusion à la vérité ultime chrétienne”.
Philippe Postel
« Pour trouver la tradition japonaise, il […] n’y a qu’à ouvrir les yeux à ce concert autour de nous […]. Écoutons-le, mais pour l’entendre il faut commencer par faire silence. »
Paul Claudel, Un regard sur l’âme japonaise
To learn further: Philippe Postel, Cent phrases pour éventails, site de la Société Paul Claudel
